The next morning. I woke up as usual.


"Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...


　The twilight light still dominates this world. Seeing this, I try to prepare to head to the academy as usual, but........


''I see........I'm done.......''


　Yes. My life as a soldier starts today. Me, Sherry, Sophia, and Eira-senpai will be assigned to the Twilight Task Force. The Dusk Task Force is a pretty tough unit that mainly fights in the dusk, even within the military.


　And suddenly Eira and I ended up being assigned to the seventh (Nana)-1 special squad. Basically, the battles in the twilight are conducted in squads. They almost never act on the same scale as platoons to battalions. You will be able to see that they have a great deal more to offer. A small number of elites, that's the basis of the twilight. That's also why even on the small scale of a squad, an officer or other person is the commander of the squad. In the past, the sergeant-at-arms had a much larger army in tow, but they almost never do so in modern warfare. This is because there are few large scale operations or anything like that.


　And basically, these roles (fighting in the twilight) used to be played by junior officers, but currently junior officers can't survive the twilight... especially in dangerous areas. Therefore, they are basically part of the military police department, defending the city, plus fighting in safe areas.

　That's why they are not allowed to fight in dangerous areas until they reach the level of lieutenant or platoon officer. Apparently it's unthinkable in the past, but ironically, the higher the rank, the more battles you'll have to fight in the twilight....... It's almost impossible to just give orders in the rear anymore.

　Of course, that's not the case in other units (Intelligence, Command, Technology Development, Research, etc.), but it's especially noticeable in the Dusk Task Force.



　Incidentally, me and Eira-senpai start at the rank of Major in the military. This is a special measure because we are special grade anti-magicians.


　And although it's easy to be misunderstood by the general public, a special grade anti-magician is proof of a remarkably high level of combat ability, and is not necessarily the highest rank in the military. The veterans are also quite high in military rank, but me and senior Eira are still rookies in the military, so they are the equivalent of majors. A high level of combat power is not enough to counter the demon race. It is only with the support of various people that we are able to show our strength.


　And this is where the fight against demons in the true sense of the word begins. We are no longer students........we need to keep in mind that we are no longer students.


''Ah........speaking of which.......''


　But before that, I'm going to talk with Eira-senpai early in the morning about a matter. I get ready quickly, and then I go straight to meet up with my seniors.



''And who do you think it is, Yulia?''
''Hmm. I don't know.......what do you think, senior?


　Of course, I'm talking about The Traitor. The traitor may be working in the dark even now. It's business as usual, but we can't ignore this matter. It's not that I don't trust the special class anti-magicians, royalty, and the upper echelons of the military in the First Boundary City......but there's no doubt that someone is a traitor.


　By the way, this matter has already spread to the military, and it's become a wind of caution. People don't want to think about it, but we need to be suspicious of all sorts of people.


''It won't be me and Julia.
Oh well, maybe.
''If we were going to drop the first ward city, the special class antimagician and other excellent antimagicians were in the way. So locking them inside the ward.............................reasonable. But because Yulia and I happened to be out early, we were able to escape the warding and repel that attack. If it was true, they would have wanted to lock us all in, including us.
But did you miss us on purpose?
'That's just too much uncertainty. There's no way of knowing who will be in that place first. The only thing I can't figure out is why the timing is so important.
'Surely if you were going to be thorough, you should have done it the moment the meeting started. That way you could have locked them all in.
'A ward that can't be lifted by a bunch of special class anti-magicians. Maybe the conditions for triggering it are quite harsh. Maybe that timing was just in the nick of time.
Couldn't we just prepare in advance?
''Maybe it's because they didn't want to leave traces or something. But even so, the skill to break that ward without anyone noticing... if I were to think of a human, I'd say it's either a special class anti-magician or someone from the royal family... that's all I can think of.
What about the third party?
'It's not out of the question, but it's a bit subtle. It's not like the meeting was openly open to the public. There's only going to be a limited number of people who knew that a special class of antimagician would be gathered in that place.

I'm not saying that's not possible.


　I am stunned. If they were among the special class of anti-magicians it would be a loss of valuable strength as well as a turn against them. I can't find words to describe it except to say it sucks.

　But the opponent made a mistake. That is, they couldn't keep me and senpai inside. And so, me and senpai took the lead in fighting off that attack.

　But still........if we had planned it before, we should have made sure that the matter of that ward was a success. But why were me and senpai the only ones able to get out?　Is it a coincidence?　Or is there something just between me and my seniors?


　I think about that, but I still don't have an answer. We are still on the back foot. And I don't think this is the end of the traitor's actions here. Maybe we're still dancing in his palms, just because his existence is recognized.


''Well, Yulia, it's time to go.
You're with the 1st Special Branch, right?
Yeah. Well, that's not going to change. Killing demons at dusk, that's all. And we're extraordinarily skilled anti-magicians. We don't want to show any signs of slowing down.


　◇


　They come to the meeting place. This is the Seventh Boundary City's Dusk Task Force, the Seventy-first Special Detachment. The reason why it's called a special squad is because this squad seems to do all kinds of things in the twilight. It also plays the role of a reconnaissance squad, as well as reducing the number of demons in the danger zone so that they don't come to the Boundary City. Understanding the enemy's situation, terrain reconnaissance, and power reconnaissance, all of which are done on the front lines. It's the toughest squad that always fights in the dangerous areas of the twilight.


　For this reason, the Seventh Special Detachment requires quite a bit of skill. It's only natural that it's a first-class anti-magician. It seems that even among them, those closest to a special-grade counter-magician have been selected as much as possible.


　So they held a briefing in this conference room, figured out the operation, and went out into the twilight. And there were four of them inside. One woman and three men. And as soon as we walk in, they stare at us.



'You're a child,'
It's not as good as it sounds?
But you know...
'But I'm sure these two were the main force that prevented the attack. I have no doubt about that.
You guys shut up now let's get to it. New troops.


　The leader of the group was a first-generation man who said so. He was nearly six feet tall, and he had a good build to boot. His hair was already gray and his beard was slightly white. Nevertheless, he did not look very old from his demeanor.


''I'm Robert Abel. I'm the commander of this squad, in case you're wondering. My rank is colonel.
My name is Julia Curtis. It's nice to meet you.
It's Eira Reese.
''Before I go on, I'm not trying to discriminate against you based on your age, since both of you are excellent and became special class anti-magicians at that age. Welcome to the front line. I'm proud to fight alongside you.


　Are we welcome...?

　But I have a feeling that others, including this one, are looking at us with a bit of suspicion.


''Well I don't like it. Are you kids really so strong?　It's written on your face.
Oh don't you like it, Lady?
Huh. Well you guys are strong in your own way. It's a different atmosphere. There are many first-class demons, but you are as close as you can get to us.
I see. I beg your pardon. I haven't seen your abilities with my own eyes. I'm not so sure. We're going into the danger zone again today, as soon as possible. But this is not the same as a student hunting in a safe zone with a party. I want you to brace yourself.
'I'm still young, so I don't have a lot of real-world experience. I haven't done enough fighting in the danger zone. But I won't slow you down. I'm not a special-grade anti-magician. Neither is Yuria there.


　What do you want to swing it here?　I responded with a resolute attitude as well, thinking to myself, "I'm going to be a member of the Dusk Task Force, the Seventy-first Special Detachment, the toughest unit of all. I've been assigned to the Twilight Task Force, the 7th Special Detachment, the toughest unit in the world. I need to be aware that I'm a member of that unit.


''........I've been in the twilight for two years. I think I know the danger zone reasonably well.


　As I say this, the other members of the squad open their mouths.


"This is the guy who lived for two years in that twilight.......doesn't look like it. And he's a major, so he's higher in rank than me, huh? As expected of a special class anti-magician.
Hey, Scott. Don't try to pick a fight with me or anything. It's too embarrassing.
I'm not selling anything, Luna.
'That's enough for both of you. It's embarrassing in front of the kids.
... "As usual, Carl is very serious.



　I introduced myself after this, and here's what the others looked like


　A man with a bit of a bad mouth. His name is Scott Bates, apparently. He's about the same height as me, and he's thin. He has cropped blonde hair and sharp eyes.

　The female person is said to be called Luna Gray. She has short black hair and is a little shorter than I am, maybe 5'7" or so. She is slender and very thin with no thickness to her body.

　The last man is Carl Hunt. He wears glasses and looks intelligent. He has brown hair, a little long for a man. He wears it in a seventy-three parted bun. He is nearly 5'10" tall, quite tall.


　Eira and I belonged to the 7th Special Detachment like this.